1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an integrated medical database system. More specifically, this invention relates to providing secure communications and user authorization for a medical database in the emergency medical transportation industry.
2. Description of the Related Technology
Current documentation procedures in the air medical transport industry are based on an inefficient paper and pencil technology. Important information is frequently collected on loose sheets of paper. In the environment of emergency medical transport, little time is available to neatly chart and document all pertinent and required information on a single document. Dispatch data, demographic data and clinical data are normally tracked as fragmented pieces of information, which are later coalesced into a complete patient chart. In many cases, these data include the same information, thus forcing the input of redundant information. The resultant chart is therefore vulnerable to being incomplete and unreliable. In a medical setting, incomplete information can lead to disastrous clinical results.
This same technology is used to support industry quality improvement and billing procedures and submit letters of transport justification. This paperwork is usually carried out at a later date, prolonging account receivable times in many instances to the point of compromising and jeopardizing service compensation. Inventory stocking and tracking is similarly a victim of extended turnover times and is often incomplete and inaccurate.
The fragmentation throughout the medical transport environment is also evident in the myriad of entities throughout the country practicing different standards of care and documentation. As is the case in other segments of the healthcare industry, even seemingly simple tasks of communicating among the various entities, as well as among sections of a single providing entity, is severely hampered by the lack of a common communication format. This is especially evident when certain aspects of the system (such as computerized clinical laboratory result displays) have been upgraded with a uniquely tailored computerized system, while the remaining functions are still performed in an archaic manner. While the upgraded system may be effective for one singular aspect, such as dispatching, lab reporting, or chart dictating, the remainder of the system does not improve its effectiveness due to the other archaic components.
In addition, current air medical transport services often transfer data in unsecure protocols and over unsecure public communication paths, and do not always validate users as being authorized users. Thus, current systems are susceptible to unauthorized users gaining access to the system and thereby compromising the integrity and confidentiality of the stored data, as well as the interception or corruption of data in transit via public communications networks, for example the Internet.
Therefore, a comprehensive system exists that includes modules for dispatching emergency medical teams, tracking their movement to and from the accident scene, managing a clinical diagnosis and treatment and accurately billing the patient for the services rendered. Such a system should optionally incorporate security and user authorization measures to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of the data that is transferred over public communications networks and data that is stored by the system. The system should also comply with applicable governmental regulations, for example the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), and future versions of these regulations.